Sweating Blood
by The Black Rosette
Summary: Story following the cyclist Akiyama Yuu and her cousin after moving to Hakone Academy with the intent to become the champion of the female Inter High. Contains OC's.
1. Prologue - The New Kids

"Welcome to Hakone Academy Miss Akiyama, Miss Murakami, Shall I show you to your homerooms?" A lady from the office asked me and my cousin. We stand side by side in our new school uniforms, inside our new school for our last year of school. My stomach flutters with excitement and my heart beat races.

"Yes thank you" We say in an odd unison like identical twins that you see on TV. While we are cousins, we do look quite alike in a strange way, genetics can be crazy sometimes.

"Alright then, follow me" The lady says holding an arm out to a glass door. We follow her out and walk through the empty corridors with our school bags in hand. We climb up stairs onto the higher floors of the academy where our new classrooms would be. The lady walks over to the first classroom in the corridor which has a sign saying '3D' and opens the door.

"Miss Murakami, this will be your classroom" She says to my cousin with a smile. Please don't go and leave me here alone! I want to shout out to her but keep it inside. I can do this, just stay calm and don't make a fool of yourself on the first day.

"Good luck Kumiko" I whisper to her as she walks over to the parted door with the office lady standing next to it. I give her a broad and reassuring smile and she smile back just as big, if not bigger.

"You too, I'll meet you after school" she replies, turning and walking into the classroom with her bag clutched in both hands. The lady that showed us in closes the door and I can hear the teacher introducing Kumiko to the class.

"Let's head to your class then" The lady says as she walks down the hallway past another classroom, some students turned their heads as we walk outside their classroom. The lady opens the door to the next classroom which has a sign saying '3A' and invites me in. This is it, there's no turning back now. I thought it wasn't possible but my stomach almost seems like it could fly away with amount of butterflies inside. The homeroom teacher invites me in with a kind and sweet smile; she looks really smart and kind. Hopefully this assumption turns out to be right.

"This is Akiyama Yuu, she has just transferred here, please make her feel welcome in this class", the teacher announces. Everyone just stares at me silently, possibly judging me as I just stand here at the very front of the class. It's quite daunting and yet exciting to be starting somewhere new.

"Here is your assigned seat", the teacher says pointing to a desk in the second row by the window, it was the only empty seat in the classroom. I walk over, each step sounding loud and feeling like an eternity while the heads of students turn to watch my every move as I go to my seat. At least once class starts I slowly become less and less obvious.

I made no comment unless called on in the classes that followed; I want to try and get my image right on the first day and not stand out too much, just not now at least. Although the classes were long, it still seemed like no time had passed as lunchtime rolled around. While I was thinking that I would be eating lunch alone on the first day and read over my timetable or read a book, a girl approaches my desk.

"Hi Akiyama-san was it? I'm Hamasaki Chinatsu, nice to meet you" The girl says. She looks fairly average in height and has a fairly slender and athletic body. Her hair is short and black with a fringe that sweeps across her forehead.

"Yes my name is Akiyama, nice to meet you, Hamasaki-san" I say smiling. Hamasaki pulls up one of the now vacated seats from the desk next to mine and sits down on it.

"So how have you found your day so far?" She asks and starts to open her lunch.

"Yeah it's going fine, it still feels a bit weird being in a new school but I'll get used to it soon enough" I say with a slight laugh which she joins in with.

"You know what club you're going to join yet?" She asks

"Well… the cycling club I hope" I reply albeit a little hesitantly

"Really?! That's awesome! I knew you would be joining an athletic club with muscular legs like those! It's just a shame that it isn't the athletic club!" She replies in a light tone and starts eating some of her lunch, I'm actually quite shocked by her energetic answer.

"Yeah, my cousin who also moved here is joining too. We've been riding together for a number of years."

"Oh wow! That's so cool!" She replies after swallowing a mouthful of food, I glance around the room in-between talking and eating, only to find someone looking at me. I continue my line of sight around the room to pretend like I didn't notice him looking at me

"Hey, Hamasaki-san, who the guy directly over to my left?" I asked and tried not to look suspicious and seem like I was talking about him. She secretly glances to my left without anyone being able to see.

"That's Fukutomi Juichi, he's the captain of the cycling team, he must have overheard our conversation" She replied in hushed tones so he couldn't overhear.

"Ah okay, this is a bit awkward now, I kinda feel like he may be judging me now"

We talk for the rest of lunch and she also introduced me to her friend Takada Rika who was in the athletic team along with Hamasaki. They are very cheerful, funny and very friendly towards me which is quite a relief. At least now I have friends who seem really awesome to hang out with. The bell for the rest of our classes interrupts our conversation so we all move back to our seats to start the lessons for the rest of the day


	2. Close Encounters of the Cycling Kind

Seriously, I've been waiting outside the female change rooms for ages waiting for Kumiko. I gave up on holding onto my bag full of cycling gear, school books and all sorts of forms that I got given for all sorts of things. Moments before I move to go and get changed without her and then go find her, I hear the sound of hurried footsteps down a hallway.

"Sorry Yuu! I may have gotten a little lost. I somehow ended up on the other side of the building after handing my application form in for the cycling club and then ran all the way around to here!" She puffs, she slows to a walk with her bags clutched in her hands and her cheeks turning red, she must really have run around from the other side of the school.

"Anyway, aside from getting lost, how was your first day of school?" I ask as we enter the change rooms. Metal lockers line the walls with benches placed in the middle to put bags and gear on. It's eerily silent as all the clubs have started their activities by now. Either that or they are out trying to gather new members for their club.

"Yeah it was great, there are some really nice people in my class, I have already have made some friends. How was yours?" she asks, dumping her backpack on the bench and emptying its contents systematically.

"It was pretty good, I met two really nice girls who are in the athletics team and told me about all kinds of important places are in the school…like the female change rooms" I say with a cheeky grin, Kumiko just looks back in shame which looks quite comical and cute

I put on my black Fiasco Ciclismo jersey which has multi-coloured pixels. My knicks are just plain black bib knicks with a band along the bottom which has the same pixel pattern. Kumiko is wearing her blue and pink GIANT jersey with matching knicks which are blue with a pink bar down each side of her legs. The jersey is mostly blue with GIANT being in black letters on a pink background along her chest and along the back. Down the side of the jersey is also a pink band which matches up with her knicks.

"Ready to roll?" she ask as we have both finished getting ready.

"Sure am, let's go" I reply. I put my school bag into my back pack along with my uniform and sling it over my back and walk out of the locker rooms behind Kumiko.

Whilst walking together to our bikes that were dropped off by my dad this morning, I can't help but think back to lunchtime when Fukutomi the captain of the cycling team was looking at me. Maybe he was just looking at me like everyone else was. Maybe they were told some rumour about me that I don't know about or maybe I'm just overthinking it. Everyone had looked at me for some period of time because I was the new girl in the class. Yeah, that's gotta be it.

When we reach the bike rack, the bikes that were parked here earlier today have almost all gone as people have headed home. We put on our helmets, glasses, gloves and cleats on and take out bikes out into the vacated parking lot. My bike is the LIV/GIANT Envie Advanced 2 in black and pink whilst Kumiko's is the GIANT TCR Composite 2 in black and red. Out along the other side of the carpark I notice the cycling clubroom that Hamasaki told me about and explained to me where it was. It's a lot bigger than I expected, then again it is used for training as well so it would have to be. The door into the clubroom is open so sounds from inside can be heard outside. I can hear people talking and the hum of rollers turning whilst people walk in and outside of the building, preparing for training or maybe having certain aspects of the club or cycling explained to them.

"I guess it's time to go" Kumiko says as she gets onto her bike and clips in one of her cleats with that unmistakable 'click'.

"Hey, you leave first, I'll catch up on the downhill" I say as I have said many times before. Kumiko simply nods in agreement and sets off. Downhills are one of my favourite things, the high speeds and thrill is just so exciting. Kumiko is slower on the downhills but she has been getting faster by practicing more and gaining confidence.

"See you in a few minutes!" She shouts as rides out of the car park and out onto the road, clipping in her other pedal as she leaves. Her shouting must have been heard from the clubroom as now quite a number of people are standing outside looking at me. Again, again with the staring! Students of all ages talk quietly to one another, I'm guessing about me and Kumiko. Along with the bunch already outside, another three people walk out, two of which I don't recognise but one who I do. Fukutomi Juichi, the captain. One of the people who he walked out with is talking rather loudly. Granted I still can't hear what he's saying but it is definitely louder than the rest. Or maybe it's normal and everyone else is just super quiet.

Maybe it's a good idea if I head off now, I've almost had enough of all these people gawking at me in surprise and awe as a female cyclist. Sorry Kumiko, if I catch up I'll just wait for you at the bottom of this great mountain.

Rather hastily I clip in my pedal and launch myself off across the carpark and out into the road. The clubroom falls out of sight, thank goodness, so no one can see me very well anymore. Honestly I'm gladder that I didn't fall over or have trouble clipping my cleat in. Whilst pulling out onto the road I start my GARMIN to record and turn my attention to the downhill ahead.

The flatter area of Hakone quickly turns into a steep decent along the road with a brilliant view of the world below before. I shift all my gears down and power down into the pedals to speed down the mountain with cool air rushing past my body. I lean in around each of the corners and pick up speed in the straights, reaching over 65km/h before having to take an often sharp turn and loosing speed. Speed is crucial in a downhill section but is just as important as your positioning, weight distribution and the way you control your bike. Small movements may be all it takes to move a great deal when moving at such a high speed. You can't afford to become too distracted or take your eyes of the road ahead otherwise you could end up over the handlebars and crashing onto the road at 65km/h or faster.

After getting two thirds of the way down, a pink and blue jersey comes into view on the road ahead.

"Hey, took you a while, I am getting faster at this you know", Kumiko says loudly as I pass her by, quite a bit slower than I usually would, she sure is getting faster.

"Yeah, I underestimated you, you sure have been practicing your descents, but… you're still not as fast as me!", I reply whilst putting more power forward into my pedals and creating a bigger gap between us that continues to grow. She really has been getting more confident with going faster and having more control downhill.

The mountain begins to flatten out gradually and the town comes into view. Once the road flattens out and I'm off the mountain, I pull over to the side of the road safely to wait for Kumiko, luckily the roads aren't that busy at the moment. My heart is just racing after that decent, pumping from the exhilaration from the speed. I didn't have to wait long until Kumiko turned around the corner and she pulls up behind me on the side of the road.

"Where should we go today? We need to know the area around here better or we could just go out 30km or so and head back the way we came, which do you want to do?"

"I think we should go out for 30-40km or so and then come back to home, that'll be around 70km or so by the time we get back, how about we just make it up as we go?"

"Sounds like a plan"

* * *

Around two hours later we arrive home after doing a little less than 70km in that time. We ended up riding along some of the inter high course from the previous year as well as riding through some other towns that were nearby to get an idea of the area around my house.

My house is reasonably big and modern, along with most of the other houses around our area. It sits on a flatter area of land and is two storeys tall with a garage on the bottom level along with the main entrance to the left. The garage is open and had one car in it with a separate side for all things bikes. Track bikes hang on the wall while a standing rack waits for our road bikes to be parked in it. Crates on one of the shelves lay empty, waiting to be filled with our helmets, cleats and other gear. While putting our stuff away, my Dad opens the door to the garage and leans on the doorframe because he is such a cool Dad. I kid, he's pretty awesome and smart but can be a total dork at times, especially when he geeks out about work or his clients. He works as a sports physiotherapist and does everything from massages to rehabilitation. Sometimes he travels away to work in large races for teams and has even gone overseas for a few.

"How was your first day of school? Have you got a boyfriend yet?" He asks us both in his sarcastic yet pretending-not-to-be-sarcastic tone. His sense of humour has always been interesting and his attitude is different from that of most other people's fathers I've met. He isn't so much cold and distant but is more of a friend (cliché I know). Although him acting like this is totally different to when he is in the field working and when he is spectating me racing or anyone else for that matter.

"Yeah it was great, I met two really nice girls in my class" I reply. He must've only recently returned home as he is still in his work clothes and the car engine is still a little warm.

"Same here" Kumiko replies also, putting her bike up on her rack.

"Ah yeah, have you joined the cycling club yet?" He asks as I walk into the house with Kumiko behind me. The floor changes from concrete to polished wood, Kumiko closes the garage door and then the door into the garage from inside the house.

"We handed in our application forms, some a bit better than others" I say with a laugh and elbow Kumiko gently on her arm, "And we're going to go introduce ourselves tomorrow" I finish

"Sounds like you've got everything organised then", he replies

"Yup! Kumiko, you want to take the first bath?" I ask, she's already heading upstairs with her bag in her hand.

"Yeah I was just going too", she replies and keeps walking upstairs. I watch her continue up the stairs to her bedroom, I instead walk down into the kitchen and living area where my dad has gone to continue his tea.

"Hey dad, I've got a bunch more forms for you from the school"

"Really? How could there be any more?" he says sarcastically whilst waving one of his arms in the air with his tea in the other. I put my backpack down on the ground and pull out the forms.

"I dunno, I guess it's just some more school stuff" I reply to him, handing them over. He puts on his glasses and reads what he is signing. I take this opportunity to exit the living area and head upstairs to my room.

The stairs leading to the second floor are downstairs next to the entrance way and opposite the garage and lead towards the side of the house and then upwards along the side. Upstairs holds my bedroom, Kumiko's temporary room (since she's staying with us while her parents are overseas), a spare room, my dad's room with an en suite and the shared bathroom.

I guess I'm going to have to start my work whilst waiting for Kumiko to finish her bath.

* * *

That's the end of chapter 2, I didn't really want to continue writing about the house at the moment so I'm leaving it at that for now. Maybe I'll add something in later but at the moment I'm leaving it at that.

Thanks to all who are reading

\- Razz


	3. Entering The Clubroom

The second day of school went by so quickly, it was rather weird, but then again, today was a big day. Kumiko and I are heading to the cycling club room today to formally introduce ourselves to the captain and other members to see if we can join the team or not.

I'm feeling so nervous, I can't tell if it's excitement or fear. What happened yesterday in the parking lot didn't really make me feel much better about what we're doing today, if anything I'm even more nervous than I was yesterday. Hopefully Kumiko isn't as nervous, but as the ace from our duo, it would be more fitting if I were introducing us both. After class finishes, I briskly walk to Kumiko's classroom, passing by other students who are also desperate to get out of class. As I reach her room I bump into her as she is exiting her room with the same nervous energy.

"Hey, how was your day?" I ask in the hallway, people walk in front of us as we stand by the wall.

"Well, it was school and it was work, nothing to complain about so it was pretty good!" She replies cheerfully, "I am really nervous about going to the clubroom" She shifts her shoulders and smiles awkwardly, she really is nervous.

"Ah yes! Same here! It's going to be really awkward, especially after yesterday!" I exclaim in response

"Ugh yeah, that would have been so awkward!" Kumiko replies and laughs towards the end and just stays smiling. After I had told her what happened in the parking lot during our ride, she didn't stop laughing for five minutes, even then I heard her giggle every now and again at my expense.

"Anyway, we should probably head down soon shouldn't we?"

"Yeah, I guess so. I wish it could've been easier!"

Neither of us seem in any real rush to get down, in fact, the longer we can postpone this the better, but it has to be done sooner or later. Just preferably later. There's nothing that's going to make this any easier on us, yesterday the boys in the team just looked at me like they had never seen a girl before which was more than awkward. Luckily for us there is going to be even more stunned silence, whispering and staring. All through the school, other students are welcoming new members to the team and getting ready for practice or to start their club activities.

The time finally comes where we have to cross the west gate car park to the club room, sitting isolated on the opposite side of the car park with the door opened. Some first years are waiting outside together, none of them wanting to enter first. Despite the second and third years welcoming them in.

Although we must have been walking quickly side by side, every step seemed agonisingly long. As we get to the door of the clubroom, the first years had finally entered and were introducing themselves. Now it was our turn.

"Ready?" I ask quietly as we stand just outside the doorway

"I guess so" Kumiko replies

With a deep breath we step into the doorway and bow slightly

"Third years Akiyama Yuu and Murakami Kumiko entering" I announced and my heart nearly exploded with nervousness. Everything suddenly went quiet; everyone seemed to stop whatever they were doing to look at the two girls standing in the doorway. The only sound being produced is the hum or bikes on rollers. I look up only to find all eyes were just on us in the silence. For what seems minutes we stood there, which in reality is only a few seconds, what do I do now? This is all I rehearsed saying over and over in my head a hundred times today. Do I say something else or just keep standing here? Everyone is still just starting at the apparently two alien females in the doorway of the clubroom. Then someone I recognised moves in front of us.

"I'm the captain, Fukutomi Juichi. We received your applications yesterday" He says in a serious and deep tone. I never realised in class but he is quite a bit taller that Kumiko and myself, more so than I had originally thought. Kumiko and I aren't super short either.

"We wish to join the Hakone team and lead the team to victory in the female Inter High" I proclaim, his facial expression stays the same so I'm not getting any reaction there; instead I look around the rest of the room where many of the other team members are whispering. Jeeze, this really isn't getting any easier for us and the staring isn't going to stop anytime soon.

"Thank you for joining our team" he says to us, then he turns to the rest of the students in the room, "Today we are holding a welcoming race for all of the new team members, the first years will be first, followed by the second and third years, first years can begin to warm up now" Fukutomi says in a loud voice to everyone in the clubroom. Everyone begins getting ready with their bikes and move into the change rooms to get ready for the races.

"Hey Kumiko, you can breathe now" I say quietly in her ear, she exhales loudly and I try to contain my laugher but her expression is just priceless.

"Akiyama-san, Murakami-san, you are welcome to use the female change rooms in the back of the clubroom" Fukutomi says to us once the new first and second year students were off and getting ready for their respective races. "After you are welcome to use the rollers with the other third years to warm up"

"Thank-you captain" we say together and leave down the hallway to the female change rooms, we find it and enter and with no surprise, it's empty and has been for some time but it has been cleaned recently which is nice. Compared to the male change rooms from the outside, the female change rooms are noticeably smaller, for obvious (sexist) reasons.

We quickly change into our cycling clothes, collect out bikes, head outside to collect our bikes that we had moved onto the racks outside and enter the clubroom again. Rollers are set up in rows on the wooden floor with multiple already taken. I recognise the other third years across the room, I'd seen some of them leaving Kumiko's class earlier today when I went to find her.

"Hey! Aki-chan! Mura-chan! Over here!" One of the third years shouts from across the club room to us with an arm waving in the air. That's the loud voice I heard yesterday but seriously? Aki-chan? We walk with our bikes over to where they are.

"Hey Yuu, I recognise him, he was in one of the races we entered earlier this year" Akiyama says to me, he does look familiar but I don't know his name.

"Good afternoon" I say as we reach their small group

"Hi! I'm Toudou Jinpachi, I'm sure you've some of my races around here…" He just starts talking, talking and doesn't seem to want to ever stop, I begin trail off what he is saying as I get my bike and myself onto the rollers and start turning my legs over. He takes a pause, finally, has he finished talking yet? Clearly not, he starts talking again without taking a breath at all.

"Oi Toudou, shut up" Interrupts one of the other riders next to him which gets Toudou rather noticeably annoyed. These people are already so interesting and this all just feels so surreal. Riding under the name of such a great cycling team, this already is so much better than last year.

"You'll get used to them, Akiyama was it?" The rider next to me says. He has dark red hair and eyes compared to Toudou and the other rider's darker coloured hair.

"Yeah, Akiyama Yuu" I reply, my voice came out sounding a lot quieter than I meant it to be, possibly making me sound shyer than I actually am.

"Pleasure to meet you, I'm Shinkai Hayato, that guy back there is Arakita Yasutomo. Welcome to the team"

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, thank you" I reply in my normal speaking tone thankfully, sounding more confident and not as shy. The same can't be said for Kumiko though; she's set up on my left and has remained quiet this whole time without even wanting to speak.

"Ah, this is my cousin, Murakami Kumiko" I say gesturing to Kumiko next to me, she looks over and smiles faintly

"Pleased to meet you" she says quietly before returning to her riding. They must have been expecting more of a conversation because the hum of our bikes on the rollers becomes more noticeable. Luckily the silence doesn't last long because the captain has appeared again at the front of the clubroom.

"First years please gather outside, the welcome race will begin in 10 minutes" he says, the first years murmur to themselves as they gather their helmets and head outside.

"I guess that's our cue to go and help" Shinkai says, Arakita and Toudou also get off their bikes and set them up on the stands in the clubroom. They each put on their tracksuit and head outside with the first year riders.

The room now is almost empty, only Kumiko and I remain with a couple of second year students, some of which I assume are new to the club. Outside I can see the first years lining up at the exit to the carpark and I can hear what I can only assume is the instructions for the race and what the course is. Not long after they all start rolling down the hill and out of sight. Some of the third years get into a while van with the captain while the others stay behind at the start/finish line.

It doesn't take long until they have gone as well and left a near empty clubroom. It's going to take a while for them to come back.

* * *

The first of the first years begin to filter back gradually over time, each looking exhausted from the race that just partook in. Once the last of the first years got back, the second years were called outside for their race. They went through the explanation and were soon off and racing. There were only a couple of new second years. The white van once again leaves the carpark and follows the second years along the course. Soon it's going to be Kumiko and my turn to race.

It's quite exciting waiting now for the second years to finish and for us to be called outside. The same can't be said for Kumiko though, she looks quite visually nervous at the moment, that is sure to change when we get outside. Once we are riding she will be fine, she is always like this before a race.

After what seems like an eternity, the second years get back to the carpark which means one thing, it's our turn to race. I grab my helmet, gloves, glasses and water bottle from my bag and head outside to the carpark to get ready. Kumiko follows closely behind. The white van enters into the carpark for the second time as the last of the second years makes it through the course.

We stand ready to race on our bikes in the car park, facing out to the road that leads out into Hakone. While being somewhat excited, the first and second years standing almost silently with their eyes staring right at us makes me seem like an alien in this world. It's like they've never seen a female cyclist, let alone any female before with their gazes like that.

Fukutomi and Shinkai exit out of the van and walk towards me and Kumiko. Seeing as we are the only new third years we will be the only ones racing against each other. Fukutomi has stopped walking and Shinkai is a little way behind him in the parking lot.

"This is a race to observe your strength and abilities. It will start here and go down National Route one towards Onodahara with the turnaround point at Yumoto. You will then take the old National Route one back towards the school and will finish here. We will follow behind you in the van if any assistance is required. Good luck" he says before heading back towards the van with Shinkai and this time the other third years are joining them. This looks a bit more serious than the other races with them all following behind. One of the club members walks out onto the road ahead between Kumiko and myself. This is it, race start.

I concentrate my thoughts on the race and get into the zone.

"Well, good luck Kumiko, let's have a good race" I say to hear in a somewhat serious.

"Thanks Yuu, good luck" She replies in a cheerful tone, we both know that this tone will all change as the race starts. Sure it isn't one of the most serious races, it's merely an opening race for the new members of the club to judge our performance and it's only a short course, but every race is a serious one to us so we will be going all out.

Now the talking between us stops, we stand serious as we wait for the start.

"On your marks… set… Go!" The starter says and the first and second years cheer. In that instant I push forward and clip in my pedal and push forward to gain speed. My heart pounds and the butterflies that were once in my stomach have gone. Kumiko rides beside me on the road as we pass by the outside of the school before descending down the school. Behind us the third years in a van follow behind to observe us during the race.

The road begins to dip downwards and we gain speed. This is where I'm going to leave you behind Kumiko, see you at the finish line.


	4. Race Time, Fun Time

\- Yuu POV –

I shift up two gears and power forward with my left leg, gaining more and more speed and shifting through more gears as I go. Kumiko is furiously shifting through gears but it's already too late, I've already pulled far ahead from what I can see going through the bends in the road. Each second I gain distance before I can't see her anymore when going around bends and I am still going fast.

I shift up two gears and power forward with my left leg, gaining more and more speed and shifting through more gears as I go. Kumiko is furiously shifting through gears but it's already too late, I've already pulled far ahead from what I can see going through the bends in the road. Each second I gain distance before I can't see her anymore when going around bends and I am still going fast.

The turnaround point is coming up soon and the climb back up, depending on how far I am ahead, Kumiko may not be able to make up much ground through the flatter section. She is defiantly more of a sprinter in her riding style and can go quite fast when she needs to but this race is much more in my domain.

\- Fukutomi POV -

That was unexpected, making a move right off the bat, just what is she planning? There is no way that she could keep up the lead for the whole course, then again, maybe she can.

"Hey! Aki-chan just broke away right at the start of the race! What could she be planning?" shouts Toudou from the back of the van

"Shut up Toudou! Don't go yelling right in my ear!" Arakita replies

Murakami is desperately trying to catch up to Akiyama but isn't able to get the same amount of speed on the straights or around the corners, she clearly doesn't have as much confidence in this area. It's still unknown what kind of cyclists they are. It's right to believe that Akiyama is the ace, I haven't looked into either of them yet on how they placed last year.

Akiyama has disappeared from sight and the end of the downhill section is ending. The road flattens out as we reach Yumoto and the turn will show how much further ahead Akiyama is compared to Murakami. She disappears in the distance to the last section of the race as we go around the turn around point. There is a lot of time to catch up, especially entering the final uphill section.

Murakami seems to be maintaining her speed quite well and is keeping up a pace to chase Akiyama down.

\- Yuu POV -

After keeping up speed along the flatter sections with the faint hum of the van in the distance, this is the one place I can gain even more distance over Kumiko. The climb back up to Hakone is a windy uphill stretch with straighter sections and some larger sweeping corners.

Here we go! The uphill section suddenly rises up from the flatter section. I quickly change down gears to compensate and to keep up a good speed and cadence. The same pressure is still forward on my pedals to maintain a fairly good speed which is good enough to keep Kumiko from catching up.

\- Kumiko POV -

Yuu really caught me off guard. I didn't think she would go off that early. Now I'm left with five gazes looking at my back in the van behind, watching how I'm riding and judging how well I'm doing. It's really unfair to be comparing my performance to Yuu's, she is really amazing on a bike which shows that all her hard training has been worth it.

After her "default" win at the Inter High last year, she really wants to make it a clear win this year in the Inter High, plus the other races in between.

Alright, got to focus now, the uphill section is just up ahead, this sure is going to be hard.

\- Fukutomi POV –

Murakami has slowed a bit since entering the mountain, it looks like she is a bit more of a sprinter than a climber as she has slowed down and doesn't seem to be going as well as before. Depending on how well Akiyama is going, she could be minutes ahead now. If they had stayed together then I could have assessed her as well as Murakami but there was no way we could've known that this would happen.

There's less than 10km to go now and Akiyama is nowhere in sight along the winding road upwards. It's not even that Murakami is slow, she is still keeping up quite a reasonable pace by herself, how strong could Akiyama be?

\- Yuu POV -

This is it, the final stretch back to the school and the end of the race. From what I know as the distance and what my GARMIN is saying, there is less than kilometres left and I haven't seen Kumiko on any of the bends and I'm sure as hell not going to take it easy now. It's all about staying ahead once you're ahead and never giving up before you cross the finish line because anything can happen before then. Too many times you see professional cyclists celebrating before they pass the finish line, only to be passed in the few centimetres beforehand by someone else and loosing that position.

Ah, I recognise this bit of road, don't know why but there is only a little section to go. I stand up on my pedals and push harder to gain speed on the final section of the course. This is a race after all, you can't finish half-heartedly.

The final bend, my speed has risen by quite a bit as the school and carpark come into view. I can hear the faint sound of the first and second years cheering as I see them and they see me, who knew they were this interested in a two person race?

I change up another gear and push down harder on the pedals to get a higher cadence for the final 50 metres to the finish line. Keep going, keep going keep going, push harder and harder until you are across.

My front wheel enters into the carpark and the race is all over for me. Still at speed I roll through the carpark and turn around back towards the entrance to wait for Kumiko to finish. I hope she's doing alright and hopefully nothing has happened along the way. Then again if something had, the van would have caught up to me and the other club members here wouldn't be cheering as much as they are.

I stop near the first and second years along the carpark entrance to wait for Kumiko and take my drink bottle out.

"Good job Akiyama-senpai"

"Yeah, it was a good race" two of the first year students nervously say, aren't they just the cutest? I smile politely back to them to which they seem to blush slightly. Seriously though, first years are the cutest.

"Thank-you very much" I reply with a smile, the other students seem to be talking and chatting to each other while sneaking glances at me.

So yeah, now I just have to wait here until Kumiko and the third years get back. I feel bad about leaving Kumiko behind so early in the race but she is defiantly getting faster on the hills, both up and down.

A few minutes pass before the hum of an engine becomes louder and a familiar cyclist rolls into the carpark and finishes the race.

"Kumiko! Good job!" I shout over to her and she rolls over and takes a swig out of her drink bottle.

"Thanks, why did you have to go off so early? You left me by myself!" She replies is a playful tone while acting upset, "plus you left me with the other third years just starting at me for ages! It was super embarrassing!" She says in a hushed tone close to my ear. I can't help but giggle, I give her a massive hug

"I'm sorry about that Kumiko, I just got a bit into the zone, you know?" I reply, breaking away from the hug.

"I understand, I was only kidding about that though!" She says with a cheeky grin. Yet again, she shows how good an actress she can be. The third years begin to exit the van and make their way over towards us with the captain in front. Honestly though, it's hard to tell if he is pleased or displeased at the result. Or maybe Kumiko or I did something wrong that we didn't know about. Even Kumiko is looking a bit worried as she stopped herself from saying something and just looks towards the thirds years and back to me.

"Congratulations Akiyama-san on placing first in the welcome race, that was also a good ride, Murakami-san" Fukutomi says to both of us, he looks at us with the same hard face as always.

"Are you by any chance a sprinter Murakami-san?" Shinkai asks Kumiko

"Umm, I guess I'm a bit more of a sprinter" She replies awkwardly. She has always been more of a sprinter, she can be pretty quick.

Kumiko and I grab our things back from inside one al the club activities were finished. I pack my school bag into my backpack and haul it onto my back and wait for Kumiko to finish packing hers.

"Ready to head home?" I ask her

"Yep, all ready to go!" She replies. We head back to the door of the clubroom to get our bikes that are waiting on the stand outside.

"Guess it's time to head home then"


	5. Welcome to the Hakone Cycling Team

The buzz of my alarm reminds me that it's a Monday morning and that I need to get ready for school. Uniform…check. I fold it carefully and place it in my backpack to get changed into at school. That's one of the downsides to wearing skirts with the uniform, it's hard to ride gracefully when a skirt is flapping about. Guys have it easy with their pants, they can just roll up a leg and get going! So with my cycling kit on and my books in my school bag, I head downstairs to have breakfast. The lights downstairs are already on and Kumiko is already sat at the table eating toast and eggs.

"Morning" I say to Kumiko. She's already dressed in her kit with her hair tied back in a low ponytail to fit under her helmet.

"Morning, I've already put the toast on and the pan's still hot if you want eggs", she replies before biting into her toast again. She must have heard me coming down and put it on.

"Thanks!" I say too cheerfully for this time in the morning. I sit and eat my breakfast before putting the plate and cutlery in the dishwasher. I then help Kumiko with making our lunch for school which consisted mostly of rice, fish and bread. A lot of rice, fish and bread. Cycling hard and often means you always have a good appetite, without eating a lot of food you would have no energy to ride. After packing my school bag into my backpack along with everything else I need for school, Kumiko and I head off to school. Although it's not late in the morning, the air is already warm from the sun which makes riding a lot pleasanter. We ride up together, not going too hard up the hill to the school.

Once up, the clubroom seems to already be open, some of the other students who also rode to school are inside hanging up their bikes for this afternoon's club activities. It's really not going to be easy to get used to the stares Kumiko and I get when we're in the clubroom. Sure, it's only been a week but is it really weird to see a girl riding a bike? We hang up ours amongst the others in the clubroom and head to the empty girls' change room.

"Now it really does feel as if we've been here forever" Kumiko says whilst getting changed. It really does, one week and it doesn't feel like we've moved schools.

"Yeah it's so weird, but hey, at least this cycling club wants us" I say with a laugh which Kumiko joins in with.

"I might just leave all my cycling gear and backpack here, I mean, we'll be back later and I don't need it during school"

"Good idea, I'll leave mine in here too" I reply, I empty out all the things I need out of my back pack and put them in my school bag. Finally we both put our shoes on and leave the change room. As I leave the room I almost bump into someone.

"Ah sorry" I say hurriedly before looking up to see who it is. Fukutomi is stood in the hallway with Shinkai behind him, "Good morning Fukutomi-san, Shinkai-san"

"Good morning" They both say

"We got here a bit early this morning" Kumiko says, "We're going to head to the classrooms, see you later" she finishes.

"See you later" Shinkai says as we head off in opposite directions.

"Hey Juichi, what do you think of Kumiko and Akiyama?" Shinkai asks as they open their lockers in the change rooms.

"They're both good cyclists, I feel that Akiyama has more determination and has trained more than Kumiko"

"She does seem a lot better. Kumiko seems to be more of a sprinter than anything else" Shinkai replies

"That seems to be the case. I'm still not sure about Akiyama's full skill"

"Well, we missed the female inter high last year, maybe we should ask the coach if he knows anything about it. Or we could just ask them later"

I sat inside the classroom with Chinatsu and Rika at lunch and we chatted away like old friends. On the other side of the room, Fukutomi is sat with some of the other third years from the cycling club. Quite often, the calm nattering of the students is disrupted by both Toudou and Arakita which brings both laughter and annoyance to those sitting in the room.

The rest of lunch seems to fly by and soon everyone is heading back to their respective classrooms. All the chairs are put back to their proper positions and everyone takes their seat in preparation for class.

Although the previous week had flown by, these last classes decided to take forever. Especially maths. I'm not bad at maths but for some reason, time seemed to stretch out until the bell signalled the start of normal time once again.

Rika slumps down onto her desk, resting her head on her forearms.

"That took forever!" Her voice is muffled by her arms. At least I'm not the only one who thought that took forever. "Plus we have extra homework tonight" She continues as she lifts her head from her arms and reluctantly stands up.

"At least you aren't cleaning up today" replies Chinatsu

"Ah, sorry"

"Don't worry about it, you should go down and get ready for club, don't hang around here" Rika grabs her bag and heads towards the door.

"See you tomorrow Hamasaki-san" I say, heading towards the door along with Rika

"Yeah, see you, pedal hard today!" She says enthusiastically, I can't help but smile back. I send her a wave as I leave the room and walk down the corridor with Rika. We don't get to walk very far before I'm stopped in the hallway.

"Akiyama-san" Fukutomi starts. I stop walking to face him, Rika stops a few steps ahead to wait, "don't get changed for club today" Fukutomi says.

"Okay", I say rather hesitantly. Why wouldn't I get changed for club? Maybe they aren't cycling today and we're doing some other form of… I don't even know. Fukutomi walks off down the hallway whilst Rika and I stand for a few moments longer.

"Hey Akiyama-san, what was that about?" Rika asks. We both stand looking at Fukutomi as he disappears down the hallway.

"I have no idea"

"Hey! Yuu, Takada-san!" Kumiko shouts from down the hallway. Rika and I turn to see her jogging towards us. Her broad grin is so infectious, I can't help but smile back at her, even after that weird encounter.

"Hey Murakami-san"

"Yuu, did Shinkai come up and talk to you?"

"No he didn't, why?" I ask

"Well, he told me to come to club a little later than usual"

"That's really weird" Rika says, "Because Fukutomi just came up to us before"

"Huh? What did he say?" Kumiko asks

"He told me not to get changed for club today" I reply, Kumiko seems just as puzzled as I am

"Maybe they're planning something? Anyway, I'd better head off, otherwise the captain's going to make me run extra laps for being late" Rika says

"Oh yeah, see you tomorrow Takada-san!" I say to her as she jogs down the hallway, waving behind her. "So, should we slowly head down towards the clubroom?" I ask Kumiko

"I dunno, I guess so"

Together we slowly walk down the hallway, talking about the day's classes and how long the afternoon felt.

"I reckon it felt so long because the weather outside is so nice today and we were stuck inside" She comments and it really does seem like the best explanation.

Once the club building is in sight, it all seems rather odd. There isn't anyone moving around outside, nor is there the distant hum of the rollers turning. Something really weird is going on.

"Hey Kumiko, do you think maybe we are a little too late? The clubroom is awfully quiet"

"We aren't all that late really so I don't think they've gone anywhere without us"

"I guess we'd better go over and see what's going on then"

We walk over towards the clubroom, once closer I can see some people inside, none of which are on bikes. There is a quite murmur of whispers but otherwise there is no sound.

"Akiyama Yuu and Murakami Kumiko entering" I say at the doors to the club room. I'm cut off by a figure moving in front of me. Fukutomi stands looming in front with everyone standing a ways behind him. I can't help but hold my breath in this confrontation. There's no more murmuring and the room is silent, maybe we did something wrong? Oh I really hope we haven't done anything wrong, I don't need that kind of weight on my conscience.

"Akiyama-san, Murakami-san, we would like to formally welcome you into the Hakone cycling team" he says, his voice echoes of the wooden surfaces which soon dissipates into silence again. As much as I thought the staring had stopped, now all eyes were defiantly on me and Kumiko. I can feel my face getting warmer as the whole team applauds us. Two students standing behind Fukutomi move forward, each with a bag in the arms which they hand over to us. Inside each of them are the unmistakable blue and white kits of the Hakone cycling team. A smile spreads across my face, I really don't know a time like this when I've been happier. All the nervousness and anxiety has disappeared and has left me beaming with happiness.

"Thank you captain, we won't let the team down" I try to say as seriously as possible amidst mine and Kumiko's smiling faces. Fukutomi turns around to address the rest of the team.

"Everyone, use this time now to warm up" He says in a loud voice. Everyone begins to disperse from the crowd that formed and moves to collect their bikes from the indoor and outdoor racks. Meanwhile the other third years move forward to meet us, now that we've moved out of the doorway.

"Congratulations" Shinkai says, all of the third years are already in the school cycling kit

"Thank you" Kumiko and I say in unison.

"You should go and try them on, see if they fit" he continues, I glance down at the bad which I have clutched to my chest.

"Yeah, that seems like a good idea" Kumiko says, moving off towards the changing rooms. I follow behind her. I almost feel like running there to change as quickly as possible. The excitement that is flowing through my body makes me feel lighter. I've never felt so accepted by a club before.

Kumiko and I dash into the change rooms and almost rip our clothes in the rush to get changed into our new kits. I open up the bag and hold out the jersey in front of me. The jersey itself is mostly white with blue and red accents on the shoulders and across the chest. I zip it up the front to my collar bone and turn to look at Kumiko who is also finishing zipping hers up. I can't help but laugh from all the built up excitement and neither can she. We finish putting all our cycling gear on and head back out into the clubroom.

By now, everyone is set up on their bikes warming up or are about to start. Heads turn to look at us but I don't feel as bothered about it as I did before. Wearing this jersey seems to bring about a new found confidence. I have a good and strong team always behind me and supporting me through everything. I feel proud to be able to carry his jersey and such a great and successful team.

"Hey Akiyama-san, how did you and Murakami-san go in the inter high last year?" Shinkai asks. The inter high last year, that sure brings back a heap of unpleasant memories. I look over at Kumiko and her face is grave from remembering what happened.

"We did well" I say hesitantly, it wasn't a lie but it felt as if I was. Our old school didn't really like having us on the team as much. Plus the memories of the inter high last year aren't the best, girls really can be the worst to race against sometimes. By this time the other third years were listening in on the conversation and I couldn't really just stop with that comment. Before I could speak again Kumiko interrupted.

"We're just kind of annoyed about it because we only really won by default", she says in a flat tone. The third years just stare with somewhat surprised expressions. Kumiko is right, we did only really win by default.

"I'll just set up and start warming up and I'll tell you what happened", I say. All the third years head off to collect their bikes and before we know it, we're set up on rollers and warming up. I take a deep breath in and start telling the story.

"Last year in the final few kilometres, a girl from another school and I were racing against each other. She was a third year and I was obviously a second year at the time. I had noticed fairly early on that she was quite violent and dangerous but she was much more aggressive that I had initially thought."

This is it, the final kilometre. My legs feel like they're about to fall off and my lungs are burning but I have to win. To show everyone in the cycling club that we are worthy and to show all of our hard work up to this point.

Suddenly the girl sprinting next to me drifts over and attempts to push me off the hot road. I push through into my pedals and quickly move forward, missing her and her bike by mere centimetres. Jeeze that was a close one, she's getting more and more aggressive the closer we get to the finish line.

"Boo!" I hear a group of people shout from behind. I can only assume that their annoyed at the actions of this girl, what she's doing isn't good sportsmanship at all. Yuu, you're losing focus, get back to the race, only 700m to go. I keep pushing forward whilst dodging all of her attacks at me.

It's the last 200m, she seems more determined than ever to get me to crash and leave her to finish. Her breathing has increased and her actions are more hostile and erratic. It's harder than ever to focus on the race and manoeuvre out the way.

Her head ducks down and she seems quite defeated. Okay, now's my chance! Just as I start to put power forward, I feel a presence right beside me and before I can even glance it's too late. I feel a huge pressure on my side and before I can even react, I'm already tipping over towards the road. She pushed me over when I was in the most vulnerable and unbalanced state and at a great speed, I skid along the road.

Instinctively I had put my hand out to cushion my fall and now it is just in pain. My body and bike skid to a halt, ripping both my clothes and skin on one side and the sound of scraping metal on road is unmistakeable. My body is in so much pain but I have to finish, I can at least get second.

People start trying to clamber over the barriers to help as I get up and hop back on my bike. Everything feels heavy and moving my legs just results in more pain. My body is just screaming, screaming for me to stop but I have to push through. I have to finish.

With a great roar from the crowd, I cross the line in second place and immediately fall into the arms of paramedics and they carry me to the medical tents to get fixed up. Time seemed to speed up at that point. It's soon after that Kumiko bursts through into the tent and tears up at the sight of my bruised and broken body.

The paramedics bandage up my arm and leg and wrap up my wrist in a special demobilising bandage. Luckily for me, it was only severely sprained and not broken my some amazing miracle. Once I'm all bandaged up, they give me a pair or crutches and I'm out of the tent and immediately assaulted by cameras and interviewers. Kumiko immediately forges a path for me to move through towards the stage. My movements are stiff and slow but somehow I manage to make it over.

The third years continue to warm up in a kind of stunned silence. There really isn't anything much else to say. One I had recovered from the fall, I was back and training again, this time with more purpose and determination.

"I heard there was a crash last year, but I didn't realise the full extent of it" Shinkai says, breaking the silence. So I guess before we came along, Hakone didn't have much of an involvement in the female inter high, aside from part of it being hosted nearby of course.

"Anyway, that's behind us now, we're more determined than ever to dominate at this year's inter high" I say triumphantly. My comments seems to lighten the mood and the other third years now look just as determined.

"Okay, back to warming up," Fukutomi starts, addressing us group of third years. He then turns to address the rest of the students warming up on their respected bikes, "Training will begin in five minutes!"


End file.
